The One Who Was
by GirlWaterShaman
Summary: Four vignettes. Each 400 words long. A Potions Master, the Chosen One, a Raving Madwoman, and a Daydreamer. R&R Please! SPOILERS FOR DEATHLY HALLOWS!
1. The Man Who Sneered

The One Who Was...

By GirlWaterShaman

A quartet of 400-word vignettes

Disclaimer: I'm only saying this once. I don't own HP. Never will. I only own Mary Flaherty. (Chapter four)

Chapter 1: The Man Who Sneered- Severus T. Snape

He's always loved Lily. Even when she ended up marrying James. He loved her even when Potter and his 'Marauders' tormented him on that fateful day. That day was when his longtime friendship with Lily Evans had ended. He decided to hide his pain through the group that would end up becoming Tom Marvolo Riddle's, aka Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters. However, a certain prophecy changed all this.

The fact that Voldemort decided to go after the Potter family, which included Lily, was the only real reason that caused Severus Snape to join Albus Dumbledore's side. Heck, the sallow man went on his hands and knees to convince Dumbledore to allow him to be a spy. Thankfully, the Headmaster relented. Severus knew that it was probably due to his tale of remorse over Lily's death that made Albus believe him.

One thing that confused the Potions Master about Dumbledore, besides the elderly man's insanely long name, was his ordering Snape to look after that Harry Potter boy. He hated him. Not only because it seemed that the face of his worst enemy from his school days would stare back at him each day, but also that the eyes of the woman he loved continued to pierce his soul years after her death. And even worse, the blasted child was in Gryffindor, the fated rival of his own Slytherin house. This was all just more to remind Severus about his own rivalry with James.

Sure, Severus was sorted into Slytherin. Sure, he felt dismal after he knew that he and Lily would be in separate houses. But when Dumbledore had said during the Yule Ball that 'perhaps the school had Sorted too early', the pale male was stricken, feeling sorrow rising inside him. Of course he had thought about this many times, but the fact that someone else chose to acknowledge this really hit Severus hard.

If things had just gone a bit differently...Lily could've ended up marrying _him_, and not James. He wouldn't have ended up all alone. And now, to Severus's chagrin, the only comfort he could possibly have was his Patronus. It was the same as Lily's. He used it to lead her son to the sword of Gryffindor. It was a way for him to atone for his fatal mistake nearly 18 years ago. And although Lily was dead, she still comforted him. Even in his dying moments.


	2. The Boy Who Lived

The One Who Was

Chapter 2: The Boy Who Lived- H. J. Potter

He was always alone. For the majority of his childhood he was alone. His parents had died when he was only a year old. So when he went to Hogwarts, the tales of James and Lily Potter made Harry feel elated. The stories caused the boy to practically idolize his parents. So naturally when the Gryffindor peeked into Snape's pensieve and saw the truth of his father's adolescent arrogance, Harry felt a part of his life do a 180. For the first time, he felt ashamed of his father. That feeling didn't go away for a long time.

It was only due to his own request that Harry Potter was Sorted into Gryffindor. The Sorting Hat, he remembered, had wanted to put him in Slytherin. But Harry was quite proud to represent the golden lion with a flaming red soul. It certainly, in his opinion at least, was much more favorable than supporting a silver serpent with a heart that seemed sickly green. It didn't help that the Houses were rivals ever since the near conception of the school. The fact that Harry hadn't met a nice Slytherin so far didn't help either.

Albus Dumbledore had explained to Harry long ago that it was a person's choices that defined who they were far more than any abilities or talents that they happened to possess. The Headmaster had always taught and inspired him in this way. For most of his time at Hogwarts, Harry had thought of Dumbledore as being above normal humans, even if they were magical.

So the revelation that came when he was 17 made Harry's whole world turn on its axis. It was hard for him to accept that Dumbledore was human, and thus, flawed. It wasn't until his near-death experience that Harry understood, due to Dumbledore's explanation.

Since Harry's fifth year, the Prophecy that was predicted by Sibyl Trelawney had haunted the boy. It forced him to become a man. The fact that he either had to kill or be killed drove Harry to cut ties with nearly all of the people he had grown to care about. It included the young woman that he had grown to love. So, after the final battle, it was not hard to understand that all he wanted to do, after all the danger, and adventure, and hype, was to spend his life peacefully with Ginny. And, fortunately, he did.


	3. The Woman Who Raved

Chapter 3: The Woman Who Raved- B. B. LeStrange

Even though it was odd, she loved Voldemort. Bellatrix had only married Rodolphus LeStrange for social reasons, and not based on any feelings she would have had. Even so, LeStrange was a Death Eater, and so was she. Also, they were both purebloods which was only favorable in the Dark Lord's eyes. However, all that Bellatrix had done was for Voldemort. Everything. Her adventures at Hogwarts, upon looking back, only proved this. Bellatrix was obsessed with the Dark Arts, hated and tormented mudbloods, and generally made her parents proud.

She remembered the moment when she was Sorted. The hat had barely touched the dark hair on her head before it screamed 'SLYTHERIN!' for the entire Hall to hear. Bellatrix had followed the rest of her family's footsteps by joining the group of students that were said to be most ambitious, and the most cunning. Except for her cousin. Sirius. He made her sick. Not only did the man end up in Gryffindor, the opposite of Slytherin, but he openly opposed the Dark Lord!

So one can imagine the twisted feeling of joy that the woman felt when she caused the man to disappear through the Veil at the Ministry of Magic. A sadistic glee emerged when she saw the Potter boy's sorrow. It served him right, she thought, for besmirching the Dark Lord's name with his dirty tongue and foul lips.

Even though Voldemort had said that love was a weakness, she couldn't help loving him. So this passion for the Dark Lord became twisted and turned into a manic-type of obsession. And this obsession, along with being stuck in Azkaban for 14 long years, drove the woman mad. Her sadism was sated when she taunted Potter about missing his godfather. So naturally, she was shocked when the impudent whelp tried to Crucio her. Bellatrix had told the fool that you had to mean it when casting an Unforgivable Curse. And badness knows, she always did.

Her devotion to Voldemort brought her to Hogwarts, causing her to end up dueling three foolish girls. One, Bellatrix knew, was a Weasley. The absurdly bright red hair and freckles attested to this. Casting both hexes and Unforgivables left and right, Bellatrix cackled with amusement as each teen fought with all they had. After she tried to murder the blood traitor, fate chose to cruelly spite her by having the girl's mother kill her.


	4. The Girl Who Dreamed

Chapter 4: The Girl Who Dreamed- M. E. Flaherty (OC)

She was delighted when she was sorted into Ravenclaw. After hearing the song sung by the mysterious Sorting Hat, Mary had decided that she wanted to join the students that were known most for their intelligence and wit. The girl remembered putting on her blue and gold tie with pride. Despite being muggleborn, she promised herself that she would end up making Rowena Ravenclaw proud.

This promise was probably the only thing that kept her from physically attacking her Potions teacher, Severus Snape. Mary had gotten in enough trouble in Muggle elementary school for fighting. Even if the children had teased her.

Her promise had also made her reach out to someone that, at the particular time, somewhat worried her. She'd noticed Ginny Weasley, a Gryffindor girl in her year. Ginny had, Mary noticed, been sickly and withdrawn for several months. So when she had seen the redhead standing in the middle of a corridor staring blankly into space, Mary had put a gentle hand on her shoulder and gently steered her to her House's portrait. Since then, she and Ginny were good friends.

In her third year Mary had fallen in love with two subjects, Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes. Her grades in those classes were quite high, as she enjoyed the lessons immensely. Mary ended up becoming casual acquaintances with Hermione Granger, and met a boy named Dean Thomas while on her way to the grounds for her Magical Creatures lesson.

They'd bonded almost immediately due to her seeing a sketchpad under his arm. The resulting conversation made them both late to class. Soon, they were spotted together on weekends and lazy afternoons with Dean sketching while Mary wrote poetry. Sometimes, they even went to Hogsmeade together. For a while, the Ravenclaw had envied Ginny when she dated Dean, but soon felt better after they broke up. She was rooting for the flame headed girl to get with Harry Potter, anyway.

They kissed for the first time in the Astronomy Tower when Dean was in his 7th year. It was perfect. They were alone, and the sky was full of stars. Dean and Mary ended up kissing the 5th time when they got married soon after Mary graduated. All in all, Mary was glad that she ended up in Ravenclaw. She knew that she had ended up being happiest there. Plus, she looked good in blue.


End file.
